SKAGWAY, ALASKA

Our last stop in Alaska was Skagway.  It is also a port of call for most of the cruise ships, including the Disney Wonder.  The significance of that one is that we will be on it in a month for a Mexican Riviera cruise with the kids.  In Skagway we did some last minute souvenir shopping because they were having "end of the season" sales.  We also saw the "Soapy Smith and the Days of '98" show and did some gambling with fake money.  All had a great time and learned that there actually was a Soapy Smith during the Gold Rush days and that he was not a nice guy.  I also found out that Princess steamships have been coming to Skagway since the 1920's and the Soapy Smith show has been running for all that time. We also took a day cruise to Juneau which included viewing wildlife, a bus tour of the downtown and a trip to Mendenhall glacier. 

The wildlife viewing was spectacular and we saw both orca (killer) and humpback whales, seals and sea lions.  We actually saw an eagle floating into shore with his prey.  The main cause of death for eagles are people and salmon.  They can drown because once they grab their catch their talons dig in so, if it is a big one,  it will pull the eagle under.  Just another interesting bit of trivia.
On Friday morning the staff prepared a pancake breakfast for everyone and, since it was raining, we had it outside under the awnings.  One thing you learn while RVing is to be flexible.

About the weather, it has been cold and rainy for most of our time in Alaska.  People we talk to refer to the month of August as fall and the weather is very unpredictable.  We have gotten to the point that we can predict it - RAIN and more RAIN.  But we are having a good time in spite of it.

DOWNTOWN SKAGWAY

DISNEY WONDER

The Red Dog Saloon use to be a Coast Guard hangout when CG ships were in port. I was looking for a life ring we hung on the wall 1976 but alas it is no longer there. The Red Dog is now a tourist destination 

DOWNTOWN JUNEAU

MENDENHALL GLACIER

 

Play gambling prior to the Soap Smith show

SOAPY SMITH SHOW

PANCAKE BREAKFAST IN THE RAIN

TOK AND DESTRUCTION BAY





After we left Palmer we headed back to Tok for an overnight stay. The next day we proceeded on to Destruction Bay AK. This is the only section of the Alaskan Highway that we have not traveled on on this trip and it is the roughest.  Many frost heaves and sink holes due to the perma frost. Thery are experimenting with different road building technics to solve the problem but the road is just about the same as it was in our 2004 trip. Even though we had a breakdown on the rough road that is not the reason the borough is called Destruction Bay. The real reason is that during the construction of the AK highway a wind came up and wiped out the community.  Current population 38 with 54 dogs.

It also has been rather cool. Note the fireweed flowers are all the way to the top of the stem. They say when this occurs winter is just around the corner.



FIRE WEED

KLUANE LAKE